UK MANUFACTURER Europa Aviation launched an improved version of its two-seat kitplane at Oshkosh. The Europa XS has a cruise speed exceeding 175kt (320km/h), a range of more than 1,600km (865nm), a higher payload and increased cockpit and baggage space.
The $24,000 kit is designed to be completed in half the time it takes to build the current Europa, says managing director Ivan Shaw. The XS is powered by a 75kW (100hp) turbocharged Rotax 914T. The company has sold 430 Europa kits to date - 85 in the USA.
Other kitplanes having their debuts at Oshkosh ranged from the Thunder Mustang, a Vee-12-powered P-51 replica capable of 325kt, to the 120kt-cruise Rans S-16. Papa 51 says that it has orders for 13 of the $195,000 Thunder Mustang kits, with deliveries scheduled to begin before the end of the year.
Source: Flight International
